Whew! It's 5:50 AM and I already have a couch full of little boys who are intently watching the screensaver on my laptop in the living room. The screensaver is scrolling through a bunch of surfing pictures I have collected from various surf magazine internet sites. The boys think that the surfer in every picture is me - I wonder how long Om (Uncle) Jeremy will be that cool! I guess I'll savor it while it lasts!
Camille and I have been busy lately to say the least! The Christmas season is in full-swing and, this being the very first Christmas for each of our 36 kids, we're doing it up right. We have a tree in the kids' living room and we let each child hang an ornament on it. There are presents overflowing on 2 levels below it (it's pretty much a miracle that they haven't been tampered-with yet). We had to put the whole thing on a pedestal so that that Chockie and Brownie (our dogs) wouldn't sneak away with the presents. The staff made a big 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' sign and there are even Santas hanging from the front doors of the kids' house.
The kids have been practicing for their various roles in the Christmas program/variety show that they are putting on for each other and the staff. We have some VERY talented kids. The other night, Camille and I snuck out for a Friday night 'date night' and when we returned, we heard a guitar and a BEAUTIFUL voice singing 'O Holy Night'. We wandered in the direction of the music and found ourselves out back in our covered gym watching Roy, the boy's counsellor, playing guitar for Joly, one of our 9-year-old girls as she practiced for her part in the Christmas celebrations (Joly is the girl on the right in the picture). I only wish that I had had a way to record those ten or so minutes. It was truly one of the most beautiful things that I have ever experienced. To say that Joly can sing is the understatement of the century. Angelic is the only word that even comes close to describing her voice. The staff actually picked Joly to sing a solo because we had noticed her naturally stunning voice when the kids sing. I watched with tears in my eyes as a little girl who, just 7 months ago had never heard of Jesus or Christmas, sang praises to her Saviour with all of her heart...and really meant it. My brain is permanently emblazoned with the scene of a little girl, under the tropical stars, accompanied by only a guitar, voicing praises to God with such innocence and with such a hauntingly beautiful voice that the world seemed to stop and revel in the magnificence of the whole scene. I've said it before, and I'll say it again here - I truly believe that a child's voice lifted in praise is God's very favorite sound.
The whole scene becomes even more special if you understand a little of Joly's background. Joly comes from a very poor village. Her entire family lived in a one-room hut that housed many people. Joly has a younger brother and sister had a lot of responsibility. Her mother has mental problems so it was up to Joly to look after her younger siblings. Every day she would take them down to the river to bathe, feed them, find wood and cook for them. She never had a chance to be a child herself. When she first came to Rumah Bapaku to live with us, she was very happy for about 2 days. Then she became angry and one night, she jumped out the window of her bedroom. Tash, our director, came to her that night and asked her what had been bothering her. Her response was that she felt guilty being here in her new home because she had so much now and her brother and sister did not. Tash explained to Joly that she was a child herself and needed a chance to be just that. Tash told her that we will educate her and one day she will be able to help her family, but for now she needs to learn to play, have friends just be loved. Since then, Joly has made a new friend...Jesus. She is truly happy and loves to play and sing. She has many friends here and tells Tash that she knows that Jesus is her friend forever. So for Joly, 'O Holy Night' is more than just a Christmas carol. She sings to thank her best friend, Jesus, for giving her a new life...a happy life...a life every child deserves.
Yep, Christmas this year will probably be the best one Camille and I have experienced yet. I'm sure that there will be a lot of great stories to share! I actually planned on sharing a little more 'news' in this post but found myself 'sidetracked' by Joly's beautiful story and knew you'd want to hear it. I do have some more great stuff to share, so I will try to start posting daily. I was going to post this yesterday, but the Indonesian government decided that our part of Bali didn't need power ALL DAY, so the post is a little late! Anyway, stay tuned - more news is coming! And Merry Christmas from Bali, Indonesia!
Camille and I have been busy lately to say the least! The Christmas season is in full-swing and, this being the very first Christmas for each of our 36 kids, we're doing it up right. We have a tree in the kids' living room and we let each child hang an ornament on it. There are presents overflowing on 2 levels below it (it's pretty much a miracle that they haven't been tampered-with yet). We had to put the whole thing on a pedestal so that that Chockie and Brownie (our dogs) wouldn't sneak away with the presents. The staff made a big 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' sign and there are even Santas hanging from the front doors of the kids' house.
The kids have been practicing for their various roles in the Christmas program/variety show that they are putting on for each other and the staff. We have some VERY talented kids. The other night, Camille and I snuck out for a Friday night 'date night' and when we returned, we heard a guitar and a BEAUTIFUL voice singing 'O Holy Night'. We wandered in the direction of the music and found ourselves out back in our covered gym watching Roy, the boy's counsellor, playing guitar for Joly, one of our 9-year-old girls as she practiced for her part in the Christmas celebrations (Joly is the girl on the right in the picture). I only wish that I had had a way to record those ten or so minutes. It was truly one of the most beautiful things that I have ever experienced. To say that Joly can sing is the understatement of the century. Angelic is the only word that even comes close to describing her voice. The staff actually picked Joly to sing a solo because we had noticed her naturally stunning voice when the kids sing. I watched with tears in my eyes as a little girl who, just 7 months ago had never heard of Jesus or Christmas, sang praises to her Saviour with all of her heart...and really meant it. My brain is permanently emblazoned with the scene of a little girl, under the tropical stars, accompanied by only a guitar, voicing praises to God with such innocence and with such a hauntingly beautiful voice that the world seemed to stop and revel in the magnificence of the whole scene. I've said it before, and I'll say it again here - I truly believe that a child's voice lifted in praise is God's very favorite sound.
The whole scene becomes even more special if you understand a little of Joly's background. Joly comes from a very poor village. Her entire family lived in a one-room hut that housed many people. Joly has a younger brother and sister had a lot of responsibility. Her mother has mental problems so it was up to Joly to look after her younger siblings. Every day she would take them down to the river to bathe, feed them, find wood and cook for them. She never had a chance to be a child herself. When she first came to Rumah Bapaku to live with us, she was very happy for about 2 days. Then she became angry and one night, she jumped out the window of her bedroom. Tash, our director, came to her that night and asked her what had been bothering her. Her response was that she felt guilty being here in her new home because she had so much now and her brother and sister did not. Tash explained to Joly that she was a child herself and needed a chance to be just that. Tash told her that we will educate her and one day she will be able to help her family, but for now she needs to learn to play, have friends just be loved. Since then, Joly has made a new friend...Jesus. She is truly happy and loves to play and sing. She has many friends here and tells Tash that she knows that Jesus is her friend forever. So for Joly, 'O Holy Night' is more than just a Christmas carol. She sings to thank her best friend, Jesus, for giving her a new life...a happy life...a life every child deserves.
Yep, Christmas this year will probably be the best one Camille and I have experienced yet. I'm sure that there will be a lot of great stories to share! I actually planned on sharing a little more 'news' in this post but found myself 'sidetracked' by Joly's beautiful story and knew you'd want to hear it. I do have some more great stuff to share, so I will try to start posting daily. I was going to post this yesterday, but the Indonesian government decided that our part of Bali didn't need power ALL DAY, so the post is a little late! Anyway, stay tuned - more news is coming! And Merry Christmas from Bali, Indonesia!
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